This class will join couples from a wide range in the spectrum of pregnancy and new parenting. The session will begin with all couples joined for a half-hour of prayer, worship, and a short Biblical nugget given by the husband of one of the instructors . Then, after a short break, the groups will divide into their respective sections for the “topic of the week.” It will look something like this: Four Groups Four Instructors Meetings on the 1st and 3rd Friday of the month (choose which day you would like to do it on) Lots of Fellowship John and Sue are 6 weeks pregnant. They join the Cascade group and during the breakout session will join the first group of couples who are in their 1st trimester. They learn from instructor A about early pregnancy issues, including the spiritual aspects of pregnancy. After their 12th week of pregnancy, John and Sue now join the second group of pregnant couples who are in their second trimester. Some will be in the early part of the trimester, and some will have moved on to the third trimester group. Also, some of the couples who were in John and Sue’s initial group will join them as they move along. In this group they will be learning about various issues of pregnancy and beginning to learn about labor/delivery. After their 24th week of pregnancy, they continue on to the third trimester. In these last weeks, they will be focusing on the typical cbe, but from a Christian viewpoint. They will have gotten to know at least 3 of the four instructors and so when they go into labor, the instructors might choose to offer doula services to them on a “triad” basis. The triad is nice because if the instructor is not able to devote 4 weeks of on call time to the couples, then the three doulas in the triad can split up the week to be on call. For example: Instructor A is on call Mon, Tue, Wed. Instructor B is on call Wed, Thur, Fri. Instructor C is on call Fri, Sat, Sun, and instructor D is backup. After the birth of their child, they will then go to the new parents group for support and fellowship with all the couples who have chosen to remain with the group. If/when this group gets too large, they can form their own breakout sessions under such titles as infant massage, breastfeeding, fatherly issues, postpartum blues, or just plain fellowship. |
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